An Ottawa man was found guilty Friday night of killing his sister-in-law during a sexual attack before dumping and burning her body near an NCC hiking trail more than four years ago.
Allen Tehrankari was sentenced to life in prison with no chance for parole for 25 years for the first-degree murder of 46-year-old Barbara Galway. The Almonte woman's body was found in January 2005 near Mer Bleue, a popular nature trail in Ottawa's east end.
"You disposed of her body as if it were a piece of dirty garbage," Superior Court Justice Colin McKinnon told Tehrankari after the jury returned with the verdict just after 6 p.m, adding he had robbed Galway's children of their mother.
Tehrankari was also heard to say of the jury: "They don't know what they're doing."
During closing arguments, the Crown argued Tehrankari planned to kill his sister-in-law because he believed Galway threatened his marriage.
Throughout the trial, Tehrankari maintained he was framed for the killing. He argued two intruders sexually assaulted him in his home, extracted his semen, and planted it in Galway's body after she was killed.
"I want to take a moment to remember the victim of this horrific crime and her family, said Assistant Crown attorney David Elhadad. "This has been an extremely difficult time for the family of Barbara Galway, Barbara's mother, her husband, her three sons, her brothers, her sister, her many friends, and her local community."
Tehrankari's first trial ended abruptly in October 2007 when he fired his defence lawyers, leading McKinnon to declare a mistrial.
Prior to the arrest for Galway's murder, Tehrankari spent several years in jail for a violent bank robbery and hostage taking in 1992.
When he was released from prison in 2000, he began to fight a deportation order to Iran. Galway once signed a petition to help keep her brother-in-law in Canada.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Kristy Kirkup
